Scoop News letter article

Here is the article that I submitted to Judie for the Scoop Fall 2009

Interesting Times

It is easy to say that in the last several months we have been living in very interesting times. The politics of health has dominated the news and no matter where you sit on any specific issue everyone in the Region Office can agree on at least one thing. Darin Duersch, our Traffic and Safety Engineer, was abducted by alien bears in Yellowstone and replaced by a sleek new Darin who posses superpowers. Darin can now leap over a moving environmental study in a single bound or at least he can run faster than a speeding traffic jam. Darin’s amazing transformation prompted our local movie producer and director Rex Harris to cast the awesomeness of the “Big D” in his next film. I think the film’s working title is “Chessmaster Flash”, or was it “The Tumbling Jedi”? Although still in production, the hope is to premier the epic adventure at the Engineer’s Conference in November. Darin plays some kind of all seeing master in the film showing off his talent to evoke emotion and provide inspiration, or was that perspiration? Other health actors of note are Rex Harris along with Val Stoker showing off their talents that include swimming, running, and generally working out. All kidding aside Darin, Rex, Val, and many others have been examples to the rest of us on what can be done with a little commitment and exercise. Many in the Region have engaged in various activities such as walking, running, biking and yes, even yoga in the attempt to achieve better health. The department encourages these healthy activities because research shows a healthy employee is a happier and more productive employee. Everyone should find ways to improve their health whether it is exercise, diet or just going for a walk. What you do is not only beneficial to the department it also benefits you, your family and according to recent news releases your Country. So “Just Do It” for the old Red White and Blue.

Living in very interesting times also describes the past few months when talking about Project Delivery. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or ARRA put some pressure on our Project Mangers and Preconstruction Staff to have “shovel ready” projects out to construction in a very short period of time. Because of the pavement preservation backlog and Kevin Griffin’s knack of identifying the right projects, the team was able to meet all the timelines that were given. Project Mangers and Preconstruction Staff completed and advertised all projects on the ARRA list for Region One within the defined schedule. Although during the process Paul Egbert was not sure if the projects were coming or going as Kevin would make changes to the project list on an hourly basis. Kevin’s moves resembled Michael Jordan when he would go to dunk the basketball and then change hands at the last second. Studying the master Paul began to anticipate Kevin’s moves with eerie accuracy. From the environmental clearances to the advertising checklist everyone worked like a well oiled machine. OK a few cogs were rusty, but still the machine worked. The ARRA projects combined with our regular scheduled projects created one of the busiest construction seasons that I can remember. Almost all roads in Ogden were either under construction or on the list to be put under construction this year. The large number of construction projects also created lots of Public interest. Vic Saunders the Region Public Information Manager is still very busy answering questions about on going projects. Our goal in Preconstruction is to put out quality projects that keep Vic and our construction folks busy for a long time to come.
I would like take this opportunity to thank everyone in Preconstruction including Judie and Julia for their persistence, hard work and dedication to the many difficult tasks they were given this year. I was very impressed with the high level of professionalism by which everyone in Preconstruction performed. Thanks!

October

In reviewing last month I come across several thing on my desk including; Notes that I took during a conference (How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci and Innovate Like Thomas Edison), A traffic Study on SR-252, Several project and staff meeting agendas, A few letters from both the public and local governments, a mountain of business cards from consultants, and various other reminders of work that was generated last month. My approach to these things is simple, I need to clear off my desk. In order to clear my desk I need to first develop a implementation plan that includes a schedule for completion and the resources needed to meet that schedule. Second I need to evaluate what is important and prioritize. So to start I determined what I must do myself and what I can delegate. I need to evaluate what is important information that I need to keep. I also need to develop a list of tasks from notes and meeting agendas or minutes. I will then create a list of things to delegate, such as; Preparing a presentation to the staff on How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci and Innovate Like Thomas Edison, Create a power point using the information from the SR-252 study that highlights the main points in the study, File all correspondence and meeting agendas, and create or update the consultant contact list using the business cards on my desk. My milestone dates are; complete implementation plan by today, evaluate, prioritize and complete task list by tomorrow, Delegate filing task today(task to be completed by early next week), Delegate updating consultant contact list (task to be completed within two weeks), Delegate conference PowerPoint presentation to be given at next staff meeting, and delegate SR-252 study PowerPoint (to be completed within two weeks). My desk will be clear off by early next week.

The same way I have looked at the task of clearing my desk should be the same way we look at our assigned tasks and or projects. We should develop an implementation plan that includes a schedule for completion and the resources needed to meet that schedule. This exercise may take some time upfront, but it will save you time latter in the process. Everyone needs to remember that you can't do everything. We must learn how to delegate tasks and yes sometimes that means using consultant on call contracts. Because you delegate work does not mean you are not capable of doing the work, it means you are smart enough to know the limitations of one person. As everyone knows our schedules never gives us the time we would like to have to complete the task or project. The only way we can meet all schedules all the time is to plan upfront. My desk example is easy compared to some of our projects, but the concept is one that I expect everyone to use. I feel that working smart means using all of our resources effectively both in house and consultant resources. The issue is not us and them, it is the task at hand. As the owners of these tasks or projects we decide how they are done. Sometimes the schedule is driven by other factors and we do not have the choices we would like and that is one of many reasons why we must be innovative. In order to meet schedules, maintain high quality, and not go crazy in the process one needs to use everything available to complete the assigned tasks and/or projects. I will soon start asking for these plans and the completion of the plans will be included in our next performance evaluation. Please plan ahead so you don't get behind.